Benjamin Jameson
Benjamin Joseph Jameson (born January 23, 1980) is a retired American professional wrestler. Jameson wrestled for various promotions including several stints with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he won his first and only world championship. Jameson has also extended his backstage experience, being named the assistant general manager and commissioner of TNA Wrestling in 2007 and 2008, respectively, while being the general manager in Ring of Honor Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and Xtreme Wrestling Federation all throughout 2006. Most recently in November 2011, Jameson became a trainer at a wrestling school located in Phoenix, Arizona headed by his mentor Frank Richards. Early life Jameson was born in Des Moines, Iowa. At the age of four, Jameson and his parents moved to southern California where they wanted to further their respective careers. Lettering in basketball and football during high school, Jameson attended the UCLA but as a walk-on. Unfortunately, he dropped out during his junior year to pursuit a wrestling career. Jameson was scouted by Frank Richards at a gym in Los Angeles and trained for seven months under his tutelage. Wrestling career 'Training' Jameson made his career debut at a house shows for Extreme Wrestling Corporation under his real name, Benjamin Jameson. His gimmick was that of a fan favorite, wrestling against villains. After making two appearances, Jameson did not receive a contract to wrestle on live television and ultimately left EWC. 'Total Nonstop Action Wrestling' 'Triple X (2006)' Jameson was quickly spotted by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling after leaving EWC. He made his first appearance under the name Triple X and teamed with his best friend Terence Jackson, who was then known as T-Jay. The duo formed an alliance with Sting, Brock Lesnar, and Juelz Santana, calling themselves Wolfpac. A month after debuting for TNA, Triple X and the rest of his group members were drafted to [http://tnaworld2009.angelfire.com/impactresults.html Impact] as the promotion had split its roster into two halves. Winning a series of qualifying matches, Triple X qualified to enter a three-way match to win the inaugural TNA World Championship where he unfortunately lost against the Enforcer and the Game. He was visibly upset after the match and did not appear on television for the next four weeks. After a month long absence, Triple X returned as Triple X and entered in a feud against his former Wolfpac partner, Sting. The feud ended abruptly, however, as Triple X chose to leave TNA by the end of May. 'The Triple Threat (2006–2008)' Three months after leaving TNA, several vignettes aired on both [http://www.angelfire.com/planet/nwatnaaim/tv_results.htm Xplosion] and Impact to promote his return to TNA. Upon arrival to the former company, he was now going by his real name, Benjamin Jameson. After weeks of indecision, Jameson chose to sign with Impact where he engaged in a memorable feud against the Rock. The rivalry, however, shortly ended because of the Rock's acting career while Jameson had suffered a minor muscle tear in back. After a three-month hiatus, Jameson returned to Impact but would appear with a sling on his arm and only appeared in promos and backstage segments. Meanwhile, Jameson formed an on-screen and off-screen relationship with Stormy, the General Manager of Impact. Sting, the ex-husband of Stormy, found out about their relationship and confronted Jameson. Jameson would turn heel for the first time in his career when he cost Sting the TNA World Championship. Because of this, Jameson formed an alliance with the Game and David Arnold, where the trio would be called Evolution. Jameson would help the duo dominate Impact as the group would hold all the major championships (World Championship, Tag Team Championship, United States Championship) by the end of 2006. On the first episode of Impact in 2007, Jameson made his in-ring return in a title match and won the Iron-Man Championship against the Insane. During a non-title match a month after the title victory, Jameson sustained a dislocated shoulder and was forced to be sidelined again. Two months after suffering another shoulder injury, Jameson returned to television in March. Dubbing himself "the Triple Threat of TNA," bragging about his abilities on the microphone and in the ring, along with his overall level of charisma, he entered in a feud against Rey Mysterio for Jameson's supposedly vacant Iron-Man Championship. Afterward, Jameson was officially announced as Impact's Assistant General Manager under the tutelage of Stormy. With this action, the couple of Stormy and Jameson began their regime on Impact. One of Jameson's first actions took place on the April 12th edition of Impact when he came out during Alex Slash's resignation speech. He stole the Hardcore Championship from Slash and coining himself as the new title holder. Because of Jameson's actions, his "punishment" was to be placed placed in a three-way match for then-vacant X-Division Championship against Kyle Stevenson and Marcus Jones. Jameson won the match and thus became the first wrestler in TNA's history to simultaneously hold three singles championships. But this accomplishment wouldn't last awhile when Jameson lost the Hardcore Championship to the Demon. Jameson then developed a legit feud with Mr. Kennedy. After weeks of trading verbal blows, the two had finally met on pay-per-view where Jameson defeated Kennedy. After the match, Jameson unified the Iron-Man and X-Division titles. On the night before, however, Jameson achieved the ultimate accolade as he was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his contributions to the promotion. Jameson had continued his feud with Kennedy, this time for the newly unified X-Division Championship. A week later, Jameson booked a Ladder match to name a number one contender for his title on an episode of Impact. Shortly before the match began, the stipulation was subsequently changed as Jameson apparently had vacated his title and the winner of the match would become the new champion. Marcus Jones had retrieved the title and was announced as the new champion but Jameson then attacked Jones, stating the rules were reversed to its original stipulation and Jones would not become the new champion. The following weeks Jameson showed more tactics of a heel and the final straw was when he interfered in a match consisting of the Game, who had returned to TNA that night. Jameson announced that he Game would not be hired and announced that he himself would also quit. Apparently, Jameson was contemplating a break from professional wrestling, citing a burnout, and also disliked some of the fellow wrestlers. In late June, Jameson was relieved of his contractual duties and became a free agent. After a five-month absence away from wrestling, Jameson returned to TNA in 2008 for the third time but as a staff member. Named the promotion's Commissioner, Jameson was once again in charge of Impact. He made his on-screen return on the night of New Year's Day during a confrontation between the Demon, Sting, and Stormy. After two months of planting the seeds of a long-term feud between he and Sting, Jameson was ousted from the promotion because of a misunderstanding with his ex-fiancé, Stormy. By the end of February, Jameson left TNA for the third time and thus ending his second major run with the company. 'Undisputed Champion (2011)' On March 21, nearly three years after his last wrestling-related appearance, Jameson arrived on Impact by addressing the crowd and stating he had returned. A week later, Jameson made his in-ring return in a pay-per-view match against his old rival, Mike Dimter, at Guilty Pleasures. With almost three years in the making, Jameson won his first match back in professional wrestling. Jameson then rekindled his friendship with Sting as the duo participated in tag team matches the following weeks. Towards the end of April, the duo had began to show dissension as Sting would leave Jameson alone in the ring during tag team matches. Finally, at the Collision Course pay-per-view, Sting attacked him after Jameson's victory over the Demon. The brutal assault left Jameson in the hospital for the following two weeks with another ensuing week to heal his wounds at home. Jameson finally returned to television late in May as a surprise entrant in a battle royal to name the number one contender for the TNA Undisputed Champion, which he ultimately won. Per match stipulation, Jameson was placed in a pay-per-view match the following week against Danny Michaels. At Cyber Monday, Jameson won his first major championship by pinning Michaels and was named the promotion's Undisputed Champion. A month later, Jameson successfully defended the title in a three-way match against David Arnold and Matt Michaels at HomeComing: 2011. That match would be the last bout for Jameson as he left TNA in the midst of his title reign due to a disagreement with the promotion and thus retire altogether from wrestling as a competitor. Post retirement 'Ownership' In the months leading to the opening of his second promotion, rumors identified Jameson reopening AMX Wrestling. That would not be the case, however, as he would go onto opening his own promotion, Empire Wrestling. Alongside Daniel Caldwell and Ace Montgomery as financial backers, EW would open its doors in late July and debuted its first show on August 1. Ultimately, the company aired a total of four televised events and a pay-per-view show by the end of August before ultimately choosing to cease its operations. While numerous rumblings about EW folding were scattered throughout the internet, critics point to poor television ratings and lackluster attendance records as a driving force for Empire Wrestling to become a defunct wrestling promotion. 'Trainer' Retiring from in-ring competition in July 2011 and stepping away from duties as a wrestling promoter two months afterward, Jameson became the head trainer at a wrestling school in Phoenix, Arizona owned and operated by Frank Richards. The school was the same establishment where Jameson attended in 2005 and graduated from a year later. Among the graduates who learned from Jameson were Frank's two sons, Max and Taylor. Personal life Jameson is currently in a romantic relationship with Monica Harris, a former model and exotic dancer. His parents are Joseph and Rachel Jameson (née Smith); his father was a former high school football coach while his mother was an aspiring chef. Jameson's paternal grandparents are Jacob and Jeanette Jameson (née Rose) while his maternal grandparents are Rodger and Ruth Smith (née Anderson). He was engaged to Stormy on two separate occasions; February of 2007 and January of 2008. The couple, however, officially separated because of what Jameson called, "irreconcilable differences." He also dated Babydoll during TNA's cross-promotion with Ring of Honor Wrestling in 2006. Jameson previously dated models Samantha Murray, Sarah Miller, and Vanessa Torres. He also was previously linked with former soccer player and World Cup winner Christine Hollis. Jameson and Terence Jackson have been best friends since their days of playing organized football as preteens. He was the best man at Jackson's wedding in 2006. Jameson is also good friends with Frank Richards, his trainer and mentor, and Viper Blade, with whom he would travel with during their time on the road. In wrestling *'Finishing moves' **''Benjamin Bomb'' (Powerbomb) – 2006; used as a regular move thereafter **''Jameson Drop'' / High Impact / X Marks the Spot (Jumping cutter) **''Jameson Lock'' (Arm trap crossface) **''JSK (Jameson Super Kick)'' / Instant Impact / X-Check (Superkick) – 2006-2011; rarely used as a finisher thereafter **''STF-X'' (Stepover toehold facelock; usually preceded by a drop toe-hold) – 2006; rarely used as a finisher thereafter *'Signature moves' **Abdominal stretch **Arm drag; usually followed by an arm triangle choke, a figure four necklock, or an side headlock **Bionic Elbow **Clothesline **Diving elbow drop **Dropkick; sometimes from the top rope **European uppercut **Facebreaker knee smash **Full nelson slam **Headlock takedown **''Jameson Combination'' (STO backbreaker followed by a gutwrench suplex) **Jumping knee drop **Overdrive **Powerslam **Russian Legsweep **Snap DDT **Snapmare **Spinning spinebuster **Vertical suplex *'Managers' **Charisma **Flaming Star **Stormy **Vanessa Torres *'Nicknames' **"The Beast" **"The Hottest Free Agent in Professional Wrestling" **"The Triple Threat of Professional Wrestling" *'Entrance themes' **"Across the Nation" by The Union Underground (2006–2011) **"I Walk Alone" by Saliva (2006) **"Enter Sandman" by Metallica (2011) **"Cult of Personality" by Living Colour (2011) Championships and accomplishments *' Total Nonstop Action Wrestling' **Hall of Fame (Class of 2007) **Hardcore Championship (1 time) **Iron Man Championship (1 time) **Undisputed World Championship (1 time) **X Division Championship (1 time) External links *EWC website *TNA Wrestling profile (2008) *TNA Wrestling profile (2011) *TNA Wrestling website Category:1980 births Category:American characters Category:American wrestlers Category:Assistant general managers Category:Characters Category:Characters from Iowa Category:Commissioners Category:Former wrestlers Category:General managers Category:Hall of Fame members Category:Hardcore champions Category:Iron Man champions Category:Living people Category:Male characters Category:Male wrestlers Category:Owners Category:Retired wrestlers Category:Trainers Category:World champions Category:Wrestlers Category:Writers Category:X-Division champions